Bumbling BillDear Editor: If the Olympics had an event for stupidity, our mayor would win a gold medal. Bill de Blasio topped off a string of dumb decisions by hiring and defending a key staffer who's lived wit...

We need a heroDear Editor: I am a 73-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War, and except for my time in the military I have lived in New York. I was born in the Bronx, lived in Brooklyn for six months, and in Flushi...

Amused to deathDear Editor: Civil libertarians who are on the alert to oppose tyranny fail to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions. The importance of an educated citizenry, as envisio...

Fund mass transitDear Editor: It is no surprise to transportation historians that the proposed new Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2015-2019 Five Year $32 billion Capital Plan is short $15.2 billion. The prob...

It's workingDear Editor: Where are all the GOP bobbleheads who said Obamacare would destroy our country, ruin our economy, actually kill you and, according to GOP activist Dr. Ben Carson, was "the worst thing ...

Good old daysDear Editor: The recent New York City Transit Museum's antique bus display as part of the annual Atlantic Antic festival this past Sunday was a great trip down memory lane. It was a time when bus d...

Punish studentsDear Editor: With so many students in high school who are constantly misbehaving, which severely disrupts the learning process and causes many teachers to leave the profession, perhaps it is time o...

Need real strategyDear Editor: Bravo to President Barack Obama for finally enumerating a strategy and taking decisive action against ISIS, the radical Islamic terrorists who have been reaping carnage in wide swaths ...

Unique OpportunityDear Editor: Flushing Town Hall has been presented with a significant challenge this season, one that I hope your readers will help us meet. It’s not every day that an institutional supporter prese...

We'll miss the captainDear Editor: As we say goodbye to Yankee captain Derek Jeter, we are going to really miss him. He always was a true professional, always respectful to the media, and did a lot of volunteer work wit...

For millionairesDear Editor: Senator Mitch McConnell was recently heard thanking the Koch's "for the important work you're doing" and for "rallying to the cause." What cause? Putting Americans to work? Rebuilding ...

Hand gestureDear Editor: I have just seen a picture of dignitaries at the 9/11 ceremony. They were Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Ther...

Get out & voteDear Editor: Vote! It's not only a privilege, it's a duty. It's also a shame on those too lazy to avail themselves of it; the very ones so eager to complain about our president's inability to move ...

Dodgy moveDear Editor: Unpatriotic companies are moving their headquarters overseas (Burger King to Canada) and people are blaming Obama for these corporate inversions? A company buys a foreign subsidiary, a...

Breaking News

Before Syria's ruinous civil war struck Aleppo, the country's largest city was a busy commercial powerhouse and a proud historic center - its long heritage on display in ancient landmarks still used by modern day traders, travelers or worshippers. The rebels hoped their march into Aleppo marked the beginning of the end for President Bashar al-Assad, while the government in Damascus pledged to swiftly drive them out.

By David Milliken and Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's trade deficit narrowed more than expected in October but overall there was little sign exports were getting much help from sterling's fall since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June, data showed on Friday. The trade deficit in October narrowed to 1.971 billion pounds from 5.812 billion pounds in September, the narrowest figure since May. The deficit in goods alone was lower than all forecasts in a Reuters poll. The Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday it had been misclassifying trade in gold since January 2015.